Chapter 1523: Nightmare
"Die...!"
A low mutter, cold and resolute to the point where even the killing intent solidified. Under the purple light, Yun Che still stared at her with fixed eyes. Even at this moment, he absolutely refused to believe that Xia Qingyue would kill him...
But, that purple gleam, in his pupils, slowly approached his heart. A force of this level could easily annihilate even a Divine Sovereign. If it merely touched Yun Che, it would be enough to reduce him to nothing in an instant... Just as she said, not even a corpse would remain.
Many people closed their eyes... Xia Qingyue's choice was simply the most normal and wise. Yun Che was already doomed to die. Even if by some chance he could keep his life, under the greed of a group of Divine Emperors, it would be worse than death. Since it was impossible to protect him, Xia Qingyue might as well kill him to wash away the stigma of having once been his wife.
From another direction, Qianye Ying'er was entirely enveloped in golden light. Her jade-like face under the golden mask trembled in pain. The Fan God divine power rapidly dissipated from her body, ceaselessly and unstoppably.
The soul connection under the Slave Mark allowed her to clearly perceive death approaching Yun Che, causing her to struggle and look up in pain...
"Mas...ter..."
A faint whisper, and suddenly a burst of profound energy exploded from her body... The color of this energy was not golden, yet it was still powerful. It instantly broke free from the suppression of the Eighth Fan King. Her arm shot out, and a flash of light instantly traversed space, striking Yun Che's body.
The moment it struck Yun Che, that flash of light exploded, releasing a strange spatial force... carrying Yun Che away in an instant from that place.
Crack!!!
With a sound of destruction that tore at the soul and heart, the space in front of Xia Qingyue was filled with purple light, instantly transforming into complete nothingness. This terrifying void lasted for a full several breaths before, tremblingly, space re-formed.
It was evident that if it had been even a tenth of an instant later, Yun Che would have completely disappeared from this world, not even a trace of residue left.
This also undoubtedly proved to everyone that Xia Qingyue was not bluffing; her hand was merciless.
"This..." The sudden turn of events caught everyone off guard, and they were greatly shocked.
All this happened in a flash of lightning. No one expected that Qianye Ying'er, whose divine power was dissipating, whose Fan Soul and Slave Mark were collapsing, and whose body was still suppressed by the Eighth Fan King, would suddenly act. And what she threw at Yun Che was clearly...
"Void Stone!" More than a dozen voices growled simultaneously.
It was not surprising that the Fandi Shennü would have a Void Stone, a spatial divine object that was extremely rare and would be gone forever once used. But no one expected such an accident to occur.
If it had been any other spatial artifact, it wouldn't have been released so quickly, and anyone present could have easily blocked it.
Even if not blocked, it would have left a trace... But the spatial force of a Void Stone was not only instantaneously released but also traceless! Even with all thirteen Divine Emperors present, it was impossible to track.
"Damn!" Exclamations rang out. After the shock, heaviness and unease quickly spread across everyone's faces.
The group of Divine Emperors and Divine Lords quickly moved forward, trying to find traces of Yun Che's escape, but found nothing.
"If he escapes, the consequences will be endless!" Taiyu Venerable said in a deep voice. Yun Che possessed the Evil God's divine power and the Heavenly Poison Pearl. If he fled to the Northern Divine Region... given the treatment he received today and the hatred he released, it was unimaginable what kind of demon would emerge years later.
Yun Che had been completely sealed and suppressed, his aura locked by a group of Divine Emperors and Divine Lords. There was absolutely no possibility of escape. Even if he himself possessed such a divine object as a Void Stone, he had no chance to use it... Who could have expected such an accident!
The purple light in Xia Qingyue's hand faded. She glanced faintly at Qianye Ying'er and said, "Fantian Shen Di, you really raised a good daughter! If future troubles erupt from this, your Fantian Divine Realm will bear primary responsibility!"
Qianye Fantian's face darkened. He looked at the Eighth Fan King with a gloomy gaze. The latter exerted all his power to suppress Qianye Ying'er tightly, while bowing and saying, "This subordinate has made a grave mistake and is willing to accept severe punishment!"
"The Slave Mark is truly an extraordinary thing," Nanming Shendi said with a smile, staring at Qianye Ying'er. "For such a peerless divine maiden like Ying'er, under the Slave Mark, she can still protect her master to such an extent. Marvelous."
"Oh? Could it be that Nanming Shendi has never planted a Slave Mark?" Qianye Fantian said.
"Ridiculous!" Nanming Shendi laughed disdainfully. "If I want a woman, do I need such an evil path as the Slave Mark!? But..."
His gaze at Qianye Ying'er flickered, but he didn't ask further.
"Rest assured," Qianye Fantian said in a low voice, "Yun Che has never touched her."
"...!?" Nanming Shendi turned his head sharply, reacting violently to these words.
If these words had come from someone else, Nanming Shendi would absolutely not believe them. But coming from Qianye Fantian's own mouth, no matter how incredible, he had to believe it. He narrowed his eyes and said, "Fantian Shen Di, I am very curious: why did you change your mind so wisely?"
"Is that important?" Qianye Fantian said with a faint smile.
"No, it's not important. Not at all. Hahahaha." Nanming Shendi burst into laughter.
Bang!
At that moment, another burst of golden light exploded from Qianye Ying'er's body... It was also the last trace of golden light.
Her Fan God divine power was thus completely dispersed, and her Fan Soul was also completely extinguished. The Slave Mark planted on the Fan Soul dissipated along with it.
Now, Qianye Ying'er's soul finally regained complete freedom.
Because of her special cultivation of the Fan Soul, Qianye Ying'er effectively had two souls. Thus, when the Slave Mark was planted, it rooted itself in both Qianye Ying'er's true soul and Fan Soul. Therefore, whether the true soul or the Fan Soul was destroyed, the Slave Mark planted on them would collapse due to loss of support.
Using the Fan Soul Bell to extinguish the Fan Soul was the last retreat Qianye Ying'er left for herself before she knew she would be planted with a Slave Mark, and it was a path only to be taken under the most desperate circumstances.
The Fan Soul was destroyed, and the true soul was undoubtedly severely damaged. With the complete dissipation of Fan God divine power, Qianye Ying'er fell into unconsciousness.
But she was clearly aware of everything that had just happened.
At the same time, Long Huang's deep and authoritative voice rang out: "Issue orders to all realms: in the three divine regions, make every effort to search for the whereabouts of the demon Yun Che. Anyone found may be killed on sight. Those who harbor or conceal him... will be treated as demons!"
No one dared to disobey the order of Long Huang.
That Yun Che had been sent away by the Void Stone thrown by Qianye Ying'er left a shadow in everyone's hearts... But Zhou Tian Shen Di breathed a slight sigh of relief. Perhaps, that Yun Che was not dead, and he could somewhat relieve his guilt.
"Your Majesty," Taiyu Venerable said in a low voice at his side, "If Yun Che truly escapes to the Northern Divine Region, with his terrifying potential, the consequences are unpredictable. Some time ago, you mentioned that you inadvertently discovered the location of the star of Yun Che's origin."
"Yun Che has always been a person who values relationships and is very attached to his home star. Otherwise, he wouldn't even want to stay in the divine realm. Why not use this to force him out!"
Zhou Tian Shen Di's brow furrowed: "No!"
"But..."
"Do not bring this up again." Zhou Tian Shen Di's voice suddenly became heavier.
"Yes." Taiyu Venerable said no more.
At this moment, Qianye Fantian's gaze silently turned. Though the conversation between Zhou Tian Shen Di and Taiyu Venerable was very quiet, he heard it all.
Looking at the unconscious Qianye Ying'er, a strange light flickered deep in his eyes. He gave an order to the Fan Kings behind him: "Take Ying'er back. You personally construct the Fan Heart Array to let her wake up as soon as possible."
"Yes!" The Fan Kings accepted the order.
At the Eastern Extremity of the Chaos, the people began to leave one by one.
Long Huang temporarily remained in the Eastern Divine Region. He would wait here for news of Yun Che.
Nanming Shendi also stayed in the Eastern Divine Region for the time being. He was waiting for good news from the Fantian Divine Realm... As for Yun Che, he was not only unimportant now, but even the previous gnashing jealousy had vanished.
Before leaving, many people looked back at the Chaos Wall at the Eastern Extremity... At this moment, the Chaos Wall had neither scarlet cracks nor a scarlet passage.
Jie Tian Mo Di had thus departed forever, and there was also the unexpected joy of the Evil Infant being knocked out of the Chaos. It was clear that the fate of the Chaos had fundamentally changed from this day forward.
However, no one at this moment knew that a dark shadow more terrifying than the returning Demon Emperor was silently descending upon the three divine regions where they resided...
----
The news of Jie Tian Mo Di's return did not spread, and the news of Yun Che saving the world was completely blocked. Meanwhile, the rumor that he was a demon, driven by various high-level star realms, spread rapidly across the three divine regions, causing prolonged shock.
At the same time, a search order for "the demon Yun Che" also spread, causing countless star realms to empty out... because the reward for capturing or killing "the demon Yun Che" was not at all less than that for the Evil Infant. But in terms of difficulty and risk, they were not comparable.
Except for a very few at the top, no one knew that the demon being hunted and killed across the realms was, just yesterday, the savior divine son whom all Divine Emperors praised and upper Realm Kings bowed to!
Eastern Divine Region, Liuguang Realm.
There was a silently operating profound formation. The profound light swirling around the formation was like layers of water curtains, pure and refreshing.
Yun Che lay within the formation. The water-curtain-like profound light blocked all his aura. He seemed to be unconscious, but he was not at peace. His teeth were clenched tightly together, and streaks of blood continuously seeped from the corners of his mouth.
His facial features and body kept twitching and convulsing. Especially his ten fingers, each knuckle was deathly pale from prolonged clenching.
Nearly twelve hours had passed, yet it was still like this.
Creak... creak... creak...
The sound of teeth about to shatter came from Yun Che's mouth. Another trace of blood dripped from the corner of his lips... A jade-white hand reached out at this moment, gently wiping away the bloodstain.
She could clearly feel the bone-deep hatred contained in each trail of blood.
"Brother Yun Che..." the young girl softly called. Looking at Yun Che's face, constantly twisted in pain and resentment, it was as if blood was dripping from her heart. She turned her face away again, unable to look.
"Why did it come to this... Why did such a thing happen..." She had murmured the same words countless times, yet still could not find an answer... Or rather, she could not understand and accept that so-called answer.
A somewhat heavy footstep sounded. Shui Qianheng approached, with Shui Yingyue at his side. Looking at Shui Meiyin's dazed and heartbroken appearance, their expressions became particularly complicated.
"Still not awake?" Shui Yingyue spoke.
"..." Shui Meiyin had no reaction. At this moment, she had none of her usual brilliance; she was haggard enough to break hearts.
"Meiyin," Shui Qianheng finally spoke, his voice heavy. "He must leave here. I was carried away by success a while ago and revealed the date of your wedding to many people... Liuguang Realm will soon become a place they are sure to search."
Shui Meiyin, however, gently shook her head. "After leaving here... where can he go?"
"He must go," Shui Qianheng said. "Staying here is not only dangerous for us, but also dangerous for him."
This time, the Liuguang Realm King had risked implicating his entire clan to shelter Yun Che, which was already the utmost kindness. But twelve hours was also the limit.
Shui Meiyin did not resist. She softly said, "When he wakes up... when he wakes up, I will send him away."
Her Stainless Divine Soul could sense that Yun Che was not unconscious. It was as if his consciousness had imprisoned itself in a dark cage...
He could not accept any of this... Who could?
Shui Qianheng wanted to say more, but Shui Yingyue reached out and stopped him, shaking her head. Shui Qianheng's lips moved, then he sighed, said nothing, and did not leave.